Shunpei Yamazaki

Dr. Shunpei Yamazaki is President and CEO of Semiconductor Energy Laboratory (SEL), Japan. He is a prolific inventor, philanthropist, and visionary technology leader. In 1970, he invented a non-volatile memory device using a Si floating gate with a control gate, currently known as a “flash memory” during his doctoral work. Non-volatile memories using this device are currently essential for IoT era as “flash memory”. Since then, he has devoted his life to the research and development of semiconductors and energy storage devices.

In 1980, he established Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd. and widespread many significant technologies relating to semiconductor to the society. He received his Ph.D., ME, BE and honorary degrees from Doshisha University, Japan, in 1971, 1967, 1965, and 2011, respectively.

Dr. Yamazaki is a life fellow of the IEEE, distinguished foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences, and a member of the Board of Trustees of Ceramic and Glass Industry Foundation (CGIF) of the American Ceramic Society. He was awarded Medal with Purple Ribbon by the Japanese Prime Minister’s Office for the innovation of MOS LSI element technology in 1997 and was the winner of the Okochi Memorial Technology Award in 2010. He received the 2015 SID Special Recognition Award for discovering CAAC-IGZO semiconductors, leading its practical application, and paving the way to next-generation displays by developing new information-display devices such as foldable or 8K×4K displays.

He received Richard M. Fulrath Award, Medal for Advancement of Ceramic Technology (inaugural winner 2016), and 2018 W.D. Kingery Award from the American Ceramic Society. In June 2022, he was awarded the Medal with Dark Blue Ribbon by the Japanese Prime Minister’s Office.

Dr. Yamazaki has authored or co-authored over 694 papers in journals and conference proceedings. He had obtained a total of 19,025 patents on semiconductor devices, energy storage systems, and thin-film transistors as of December 2023. He holds the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS Title as “Most Patents Credited as Inventor”. The number was recognized by Guinness World Record in September 2016 (see http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/most-patents-held-by-a-person